Centennial Redone
by PlasmicFemale
Summary: As the title says, it's my version of Centennial Charmed, so expect spoilers. It's Cole/Phoebe, naturally. I'm not promising too happy an ending though.


Disclaimer: I don't own anyone, don't sue me.  
  
A/N: Centennial Charmed spoilers, in case you couldn't tell by the title. This is a bit late, considering Cole left ages ago. It's been sitting on my computer for a while now. Anyway, it's just a short thing I pieced together after watching Centennial Charmed. . .which was completely unsatisfactory. It's how I would have written Cole's character off.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"I do hate long goodbye's . . ." Paige muttered, before she attempted to throw the potion.  
  
"No!" Phoebe called out, quickly grabbing the potion from Paige's hands. She clenched the tiny vial in her hands and looked at Cole. Cole gazed at her.  
  
"Phoebe! Are you crazy? Throw it before he shimmers out!" Paige shouted.  
  
"Phoebe, throw it." He urged gently. Paige frowned.  
  
"Wait, this isn't one of your suicidal missions, is it?" Paige asked incredulously. Phoebe glanced at her sister.  
  
"What?" She asked, confused.  
  
"Phoebe, throw the potion." Cole said, more firmly this time.  
  
"Why?" Phoebe asked softly.  
  
"It's the only way. End this, for both of us." He glared at her. "Now!" As he had done weeks before, he used his powers to teleport the vial from Phoebe's hands to his feet. But as the potion was about to crash onto the floor, it stopped in mid air. Before Cole knew what was happening, the potion flew in the opposite direction, crashing into the wall.  
  
"What!?" Both he and Paige exclaimed.  
  
"You don't think I'd let you kill him, do you?" The Avatar said as he appeared in the room. Cole groaned.  
  
"Who are you?" Paige questioned.  
  
"An Avatar. Not good nor evil." The Avatar said, giving Paige a bow, not taking his eyes off her.  
  
"If you're not evil, what do you have against us killing Cole!" Paige shouted, frustrated.  
  
"He could possibly be the most powerful force on the planet, not in this reality of course. We need him." The Avatar said. "And evil or not, you're getting in the way of that." He produced an athame from his robe.  
  
"What are you doing?" Cole questioned suspiciously.  
  
"Ridding you of your obsession. I destroy the Power of Three starting with Miss Matthews here, and the Halliwell's will be vulnerable enough for me to kill in your real reality." The Avatar said advancing on Paige.  
  
"Wait." Cole started. He shimmered in front of the Avatar, blocking Paige.  
  
"Belthazor, this must be done for you to join us. They are merely a distraction, nothing more." The Avatar said, side stepping Cole.  
  
"I beg to differ. . ." Cole muttered, once again shimmering in front of the Avatar. "I told you the only way I could be happy was with Phoebe. . ."  
  
"And you see now that you cannot have her, in this reality or another." The Avatar said firmly, as he once again side stepped Cole. When Cole didn't show any signs of shimmering again, he advanced on Paige. He held up the athame, and with a flick of his wrist sent it soaring towards Paige.  
  
In less than a second, Cole shimmered in front of Paige, the athame wedging itself deep into his chest.  
  
"Demons. . ." The Avatar mumbled with a shake of his head. "You could have been more powerful than--"  
  
"I don't care!" Cole spluttered, gasping for breath. The Avatar clenched his teeth, before fading out of the room in a mass of black.  
  
"What was all of that!" Phoebe shouted. Paige glanced at her sister, and then down at Cole.  
  
"Why. . ." She began.  
  
"For. . .the best." Cole muttered. He clenched his teeth and pulled out the athame with a grunt. "I got what I wanted, and so did you." He glanced at Phoebe. "All of you." He closed his eyes tightly as a wave of dizziness overcame him, it passed within seconds. Paige started to say something, but was interrupted as everything around her became a blur. Before she knew is, she was standing in the manor. Cole was nowhere to be seen. She spun around as Piper emerged holding onto a tub of ice cream.  
  
"Where did--" Piper began.  
  
"We have to go to Cole's." Paige interrupted. "Where's Phoebe?" Her question was answered as Phoebe hurried into the room. Before she could say anything, Paige spoke. "Let's go, now!"  
  
"Paige, what--" Phoebe began as Paige grabbed her hand.  
  
"Later." Paige said grabbing on to Piper with her free hand. Before anyone could say anything else, Paige had orbed them out of the manor.  
  
Phoebe frowned as they appeared in the penthouse.  
  
"Paige, what--" She stopped as she saw Cole sprawled in the corner of the room, blood soaking his shirt.  
  
"You shouldn't have come." He muttered, barely audible.  
  
"I needed to know why you did it, after everything that happened." Paige said walking towards him.  
  
"I told you." He croaked.  
  
"You wanted us dead!" Paige exclaimed.  
  
"What is going on!" Phoebe shouted. "Why are you covered in blood, and why are you injured? You're supposed to be immortal!"  
  
"It happened in a different reality." Paige said, trying to put into words what she herself was finding hard to comprehend. "I guess since it didn't happen here, he won't get healed. By himself. . .or me."  
  
"A different reality?" Piper questioned, confused.  
  
"Paige, they don't have to know." Cole whispered. Paige looked at him.  
  
"He saved my life." She said to her sisters. "Because. . .because he knew if I died I wouldn't be here to help protect you guys." She turned back to Cole. "That's it, isn't it?"  
  
Cole nodded slowly. "If you died, they would have tried to destroy Phoebe. She was they only thing stopping me from joining them." He looked up and gazed at Phoebe. "They won't try to hurt you now. Not if I'm not here." He gasped for breath and clenched his eyes shut. Before she knew what she was doing Phoebe knelt down next to him.  
  
"I don't understand. . .any of this." She looked from Cole to Paige.  
  
"You don't have to--" Cole whispered, stopping abruptly as he tried to gasp for breath. He closed his eyes for a second, before opening them again. "Just know that despite everything. . ." He stopped once again. "I will never stop loving you."  
  
"Cole, I'm sorry. . .for ever--"  
  
"Don't, Phoebe." Cole interrupted. He summoned what energy he had left and raised his hand to gently caress her cheek. "I could never give you what you deserved--"  
  
"That's not true." Phoebe said quickly. "You gave me everything."  
  
Cole smiled despite the pain that was now a constant throbbing. "It wasn't enough. Not for us." His arms dropped to his side, he had no energy to prevent it.  
  
Phoebe looked into his eyes, and for the first time in months saw what she recognised as the man she had loved so much. Before she knew what she was doing she leant over and brushed her lips against his. "I wish things could have been different." She said softly as she pulled away.  
  
"Next time." Cole said hoarsely. "In another lifetime maybe." He smiled slightly.  
  
"It's a date. . ." She said, returning his smile. A lone tear made its way down her cheek.  
  
"Love. . .you. . ." Cole managed to mutter, before his hoarse breathing ceased and his head rolled limply forward. Within seconds his body was engulfed in flames, disappearing moments later. Phoebe wiped away the tear with the back of her hand.  
  
"I love you too." She whispered softly. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around. Piper stood behind her.  
  
"You okay?" She asked.  
  
"Fine." Phoebe replied, giving her sister a half smile. "I just never expected this. Any of this."  
  
"Funny." Paige said, sinking into the couch. "I was ready to kill him moments ago. Now I can't even remember why."  
  
"I guess this was how it was supposed to be." Phoebe said gently, standing up. She smiled vaguely at her sisters. "Let's get out of here." Piper and Paige were happy to oblige. They both headed towards the elevator. As they stepped into it, however, Phoebe stopped. She turned around, glancing at the photo of Cole and her sitting on the table beside her. She smiled at it. "Happy Birthday, Cole." She turned and stepped onto the elevator, the doors closing silently behind her.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Well, that's it. Of course, if I had had my way, Cole wouldn't have left at all. But seeing as Julian McMahon had to go, I figured this was the best way to do it. Hope it was okay. Review and give me your feedback. 


End file.
